The prior art shows different types of pedal cranks made with different shapes, materials and constructive techniques. Each of these has the same goals: reduce the weight as much as possible and at the same time ensure, if not even improve, the characteristics of strength and reliability of the pedal crank.
The goal of manufacturing lighter pedal cranks has led to the use of composite materials having low specific weight. Nevertheless, while the pressures occurring in the use of the pedal crank remain unaltered, specifically the torsion forces due to the thrusting action of the cyclist during pedaling, it becomes necessary to insert metal elements that act as an interface between the bottom bracket pivot, or pedal pivot, with the pedal crank body.
One lighter pedal crank is shown in EP 1 281 609 assigned to Campagnolo S.r.l., wherein the pedal crank body is obtained by molding a thermosetting composite material inside a mould in which metal inserts are arranged. During the molding step, the composite material in plastic state is arranged to cover the inserts, coating them for most of their outer surface, except for a short portion in correspondence with support elements to which the inserts are fixed. Such support elements advantageously act as extractor elements. The material thus arranged inside the mould is heated up to its hardening after which the pedal crank can be removed from the mould by activating the extractor elements. The pedal crank then undergoes cooling down to room temperature. In the end configuration the inserts are substantially incorporated inside the material with which the pedal crank body is made.
During the aforementioned cooling step, however, the problem is that the composite material coats the insert and tends to detach from the walls of the insert itself. During cooling, both the insert's metal material and the pedal crank's composite material shrink. The detachment process is even more critical when the cooling coefficient of the two materials is different. Such a detachment means a decrease in adherence between the metal insert and the composite material, with a consequent decrease in the strength properties and the breaking strength of the pedal crank as a whole.
A second solution which uses metal inserts in a pedal crank body of composite material is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,506 B1. In such a solution the metal insert has, on the outer surface, a series of shaped discs which are spaced apart and incorporated in the composite material of which the pedal crank body is made. Such a manufacture, while increasing the contact surface between insert and composite material, is still problematic due to the partial detachment between the material of the pedal crank body and the insert, this being a phenomenon which appears during the hardening step of the material.